Banana
by ChEmMiE
Summary: "Sure, it was only mashed banana, but she was just a 7-year-old girl who seemed to have had a rough day." Tony and Ziva's daughter hasn't had the best time on the school field trip.


_I missed writing, and just couldn't seem to get started! So I asked a (non-ff and non-NCIS) friend for a prompt... got "banana"! o.O_  
 _So this is what happened! It is just meant to be a cute little scene :) It can be seen as the same universe as 'Night-Time', if you want it to._

 _(And yes, might seem a bit rushed at the end. But leaving for the airport in 15 min and will be without computer for 2 weeks, so wanted to get it posted before I left ;))_

 _Enjoy!_

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 **Banana**

As she pulled into the mostly empty school parking lot, Ziva headed straight for the old weeping willow tree by the playground. It had been their designated pick up spot since the first day of school, and remembering Tony belting out Pocahontas songs that entire day at work still brought a smile to Ziva's face.

The bus wouldn't be back for another 10 minutes, so turning off the car she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Having come straight from work, she liked taking advantage of the few minutes of piece and quiet before the rest of the afternoon and evening started.

She'd noticed the group of parents by the main entrance as soon as she arrived, but she'd never felt as if she belonged. Sure, she'd greet them and do some small talk when she ran into them at the school or in the park, but standing in a group like that always just made her feel uncomfortable and out of place. She was perfectly fine with staying away from the crowds, however, as Tony excelled at both charming and mingling with the other parents and teachers.

* * *

It wasn't until the bus stopped that Ziva left the car. Leaning against the door with her arms crossed in front of her, she couldn't prevent a smile from creeping onto her face at the sight of the children leaving the bus and running excitedly to their parents. She almost felt bad for the teacher clearly trying his hardest to keep control of the situation.

A little dark-haired girl with her head bowed forwards quickly drew her attention, however. She was walking briskly towards the car, staring determined at the ground, each hand grabbing a strap of her backpack tightly as her long hair flew around her in the wind. She'd almost reached the before another girl caught up with her, backpack in her hand and one of her shoelaces untied.

"Mommy, she didn't wait for me!" Crunching down so she was eye-level with her daughter, Ziva offered her a big smile as she brushed a loose curl behind her ear.

"Nice to see you too, motek." The offended look slipped from her face as she let Ziva pull her into a quick one-armed embrace, placing a quick kiss on the top of the dark hair as she grabbed the backpack from her little girl's hand.

"Hi mommy."

Always amazed at how quickly the girls' mood could change, Ziva simply chuckled as she opened the car door and watched her daughter climb in, patiently waiting as she buckled herself in.

"You okay there, Elle?"

"Fine." The little girl was staring straight into the seat in front of her, her feet purposely kicking that same seat and her schoolbag having been thrown onto the passenger seat. As she bent down to tie the shoe in front of her, Ziva kept glancing towards the girl in the opposite side of the car.

"Can we have salmon for dinner?"

"Your daddy is making dinner, sweetie, so I don't know."

"So we'll probably have _pizza_ again." Ziva just chuckled at her daughter's dramatic statement, sending a last concerned look towards the unusually quiet girl before returning to the driver's seat.

She let the silence linger as she pulled out of the parking lot, keeping an eye on her two girls in the rearview mirror. She wasn't too worried, as it wasn't unusual for the two of them to fight or be upset about something. But it was usually the other way around.

"How was the zoo? Did you have fun?"

"Yes!" The girl behind her instantly shot forward in her seat. "There were _two_ baby elephants, and Ms. Summers taught us how to tell where they were from on their ears."

"Oh?"

"These were all from Asia, cause they had _small_ ears." The smile on her face was so proud, and Ziva couldn't help but beam back at her daughter through the mirror.

"That is really cool, motek."

"And we got to see them feed the penguins, and then zoo keeper let us help, and we each got to throw a fish into the water, but then Joey almost puked because he really doesn't like the smell of fish!" While nodding and humming along to the excited retelling of their day, Ziva kept shooting glances towards the girl stubbornly staring out the window.

"What about you, Elle?"

"It sucked." It was little more than a mumble, and the girl never shifted her gaze from the window.

"I thought you loooved the monkeys." The teasing words had barely reached Ziva's ears before her daughter angrily turned around.

" _Shut up_ , Lily!"

"Mom!"

"Ariel, don't talk to your sister like that."

"But she started!" Letting out a sigh, Ziva stopped at the red light before turning in her seat so she faced both girls. It only took a raised eyebrow, and both of them seemed to instantly deflate back against their seats. By the time Ziva turned back around to continue driving, Elle was fidgeting in her seat, clearly trying to decide what to tell her mother.

"Ryan asked why I wasn't inside the monkey enclosure, cause I belonged there."

"He called her a monkey, mommy. In front of eeeeveryone!"

"Did you tell your teachers?" Both girls shook their head, and Elle angrily crossed her arms in front of her.

"Then I'd be a tattletale."

"But you can't be a tattletale _and_ a monkey tail!" At her sister's words, Elle whipped towards her mother.

"Avery pulled on my braid and called it a monkey tail!"

"So she took it out."

"Well that was not very nice!" Lily shook her head, but her sister just kept glaring at the air in front of her. "So why a monkey?" When she didn't receive an instant reply, Ziva checked the mirror to see her two now silent girls just looking at each other. She was almost about to interrupt their unspoken discussion when Elle sighed and fell back in her seat, eyes now turned towards her feet.

"My banana got squished." She kicked the seat in front of her to emphasize her annoyance, but Ziva let it go. "My lunch box was covered in mashed banana when I took it out."

"It was everywhere, mommy. Even inside her book."

"I tried to get it out of my backpack, but I just got banana all over my hands!" Ziva had to try really hard not to chuckle, but the exasperated look on her daughter's face made it nearly impossible. Despite finding it somewhat funny, she knew it didn't feel that way at all for her 7-year-old daughter.

"You know that they are just being silly, yes, motek?" Locking eyes with the girl in the mirror, she was happy to see a small nod. She didn't look very convinced, however. "Kids can be very mean, and that is never okay. But _you_ know that what they were saying could never be true."

"I know, mommy." She knew it was neither that simple nor easy, but it would do for now. Ariel usually didn't have any problems with the other kids at school, and seemed to get along well with everyone, so Ziva was hoping for this to just be a one-time thing. She'd keep her eye out for any other signs of bullying or trouble, but she wasn't expecting any.

"You want me to talk to your teacher tomorrow?" The determined shake of her head didn't surprise Ziva at all.

"Nope." Once more locking eyes with her daughter to check if she was sure, she noticed the mischievous grin starting to show on her face. "I already have a plan!"

"You do?" Elle just turned towards her surprised sister, the smile on her face growing. "You didn't tell me!"

"Duh. Mommy can't know."

"You _do_ know I can hear you, Elle. Yes?" Both heads turned towards her as they as drew out a long 'yes', big smiles adorning their faces.

"Which is why I can't tell Lily my plan. Cause you'd never let me do it."

"Is that so?"

"Yup! So daddy has to help me." She looked so proud and sure of her reasoning that Ziva couldn't prevent the laugh from escaping her throat.

"And if I won't let you, what makes you think your dad will?"

"Cause he's the _master_ of pranks." Lily exclaimed it as if it was a known fact, and the way Ariel nodded along, it seemed as if it was to them.

"Yeah. Sometimes when we do bed cuddles, daddy tells us about all the pranks he's pulled on you and McGee.

"He's the best."

"He'll definitely help me." Ziva wasn't sure whether to be more scared or amused as she finally parked the car in their driveway. She _did_ need to have a serious conversation with Tony about proper bedtime stories, however, before the girls got too many crazy ideas.

Before she had a chance to respond, both girls had unbuckled themselves and were leaving the car, slamming the doors behind them as they raced towards the house.

"Elle!" The girl's smile fell as she turned around to see her mother holding up the backpack she'd left in the car.

"Will you help clean it for me, mommy?" With the sincere look in her eyes, Ziva knew there was no way she could say no. Sure, it was only mashed banana, but she was just a 7-year-old girl who seemed to have had a rough day.

"Of course I will." The smile was back in an instant, and so was Ziva's own at the sight of her two girls entering the house and getting attacked by the excited dog, welcoming them home.

They were going to be just fine.

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 _Hope you liked it! Let me know? :)_


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